Saturday, 1 October 2016

First Experience with Avene Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum

Hey guys,

So, about 2 weeks ago, I ran out of my face serum & creams from my dermatologist. I initially wanted to repurchase the products because my skin had not recovered from acnes entirely yet. But I was too lazy to go to the clinic and decided to look for a new moisturizer instead. Now, this is tricky! My skin now is pretty sensitive to any products applied on it. One thing I keep in mind, I need something that is oil-free, non-acnegenic or non-comedogenic; even better if it states: for sensitive skin.

Long story short, I found the product that I supposed would suit my skin. It is Avene Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum. It's another French brand that looks a lot like Bioderma. But probably with a higher price range. It claims to be hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and suitable for dehydrated sensitive skin.

It's actually sold at Guardian (a drugstore shop similar to Watsons), but I purchased this at Sociolla, an online beauty shop that's been trendy recently. It sells at IDR 448k (around US$ 34) but I got an IDR 50k discount for my first purchase, so it's a good deal for trial ;)

I finally received the package after 2 days from my order! It was packed beautifully in a pale pink box with a card and bubble wrap.

The serum comes in a small transparent plastic bottle (that looks like a nice glass bottle) with a pump.and clear cap. The pump works well and dispose just the right amount of product. I usually use around 1-2 pumps for the whole face. But, I do think the serum is pretty thick for a face serum so I think it would run out pretty quickly!

The serum has some faint scent that smells like floral and water. The texture, as I said, is a bit thick for serum. But, it glides very nicely on the skin and absorbs well. There's no heavy feeling, it just feels like water that doesn't leave any excess oil (probably because it's oil-free :p ) on my face. It's such a good base for a BB cream! On the box, it's says that this serum is to be used after moisturizer, which I think pretty weird. I mean, serum is usually applied after toner and before moisturizer. But anyway, I don't use any other moisturizer after this since I think I already get the right dose of moisturizer from this alone. Note: I have a normal to dry skin and live in a tropic area that tends to be humid. If I happened to live in drier climate, I would probably need to add one layer of moisturizer on top of it.

I have been using this for a week now and there has been no breakout. I have stopped using skin care from dr. Wong for almost weeks and I am really happy because my skin continues to recover from acnes without looking dehydrated. I highly recommend this product for everyone that only wants to add some hydration to his/her skin since it doesn't have any additional benefits besides hydration. Price wise, I think it's a bit expensive for a drugstore brand. But, if you do have sensitive skin, I think it's worth trying a product with some quality like this one.

Overall, I rate this product 4 out of 5. Almost everything in this product is satisfying: packaging, texture, scent and quality. The only downside is only the price.